Training

1. A partnership initiative to champion sustainability in Abu Dhabi The ADSG The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) is a partnership initiative to champion sustainability in Abu Dhabi initiated by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi with the support of the Executive Council-Abu Dhabi. Its mission is to promote sustainability management in the Emirate by providing learning and knowledge sharing opportunities for government, private companies and not for profit organizations in a spirit of cooperation and open dialogue. The ADSG was launched in June 2008 as a membership organization. At present it has 20 members. All of them have signed the ADSG Declaration committing to adopt best economic, environmental and social sustainability management practices and to publish an annual sustainability report that explains their sustainability approach and evaluates their environmental, economic and social performance. To achieve its mission, the ADSG provides services to members to help them to act to improve their sustainability management and reporting practices and to optimize their economic, social and environmental impacts. www.adsg.ae Our members Workshop on Transparency in the Supply Chain Training Thursday, 1st April 2010 Abu Dhabi, UAE Supporting Partners

2. Program The GRI Reporting Framework The GRI Reporting framework is the de facto global standard for sustainability reporting, and has assisted thousands of companies worldwide in identifying key sustainability issues and communicating their performance to a wide group of stakeholders including consumers, employees, shareholders and investors. The ADSG commitment to sustainability reporting The Abu Dhabi Government aims to be one of the best five governments in the world by 2030. Sustainability is increasingly seen as a necessary requirement to achieve government and business excellence, as reflected in the EFQM model 2010 that has included the concept of “Taking responsibility for a sustainable future”. Sustainability Reporting is an indispensable tool to making the transition to a sustainable future. As the father of modern management, Peter Drucker, once said, “What gets measured, gets managed”. With this purpose, one of the explicit commitments that members make when they sign the ADSG Declaration is to publish an annual sustainability report that explains their management approach and evaluates their environmental, economic and social performance. "We, the undersigned, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group members […] commit to publishing an annual report that explains our sustainability management approach and an evaluation of our environmental, economic and social performance. We pledge this in a spirit of cooperation and open dialogue to ensure the highest levels of transparency; and we commit to supporting national plans and strategies". Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Declaration 2008 The workshop Transparency in the supply chain is a key challenge for many reporters and their suppliers. The complexity of the supply chain of large organizations is increasing, and at the same time they are under growing pressure from consumers, governments and other stakeholders to take responsibility for what happens throughout their supply chain. This workshop will address how to improve the quality of disclosure on performance with respect to supply chains. The workshop will also address how to improve the sustainability performance of suppliers going beyond current models of control and audits and looking at ways to build a sense of shared responsibility between supplier and buyer in order to contribute to a sustainable supply chain. • Trainer • Nelmara Arbex, Director Learning Services, Global Reporting Initiative